Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack recently announced that the USDA will be providing $260 million for conservation partnership programs that will help improve water quality, support wildlife, protect agriculture, and more. Applications are now being accepted for 2017 funding.

A 2016 research paper in the Journal Nature predicts a 40 percent shortfall of available water across the globe by 2030 with effects not just for drinking, food production, hygiene and public health, but also for 98 percent of global electric power generation.

Thus far, 169 countries have signed the Convention on Wetlands and more than 2,200 sites have been designated and recognized as Wetlands of International Importance, covering an area larger than Mexico in all.

"As food rots in a landfill, it produces methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. At the same time, one in six Americans lack access to the nutrition they need to live an active, healthy life," according to EPA.

The Clean Energy Fund will advance solar, wind, energy efficiency, and other clean tech industries to spur economic development and reduce harmful emissions. This action will result in lower energy costs for consumers and businesses beginning this year.

It envisions a global economy in which plastics never become waste. If this systemic change can't be realized, the potential damage will be severe -- given the projected growth in consumption and a business-as-usual scenario, by 2050 the world's oceans are expected to contain more plastics than fish by weight.

Sacramento-based nonprofit, Mutual Housing California, project manager Vanessa Guerra recently received a Latina “Rising Star” award from the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce for her work on the Department of Energy’s first zero-energy ready home for a rental development certified in the nation.

"We are again taking the necessary steps to address the continuing rapid decline in crude oil indices and base oil pricing. These adverse energy market dynamics are decreasing the values of our re-refined products and byproducts, as well as our recycled fuel oil," said Safety-Kleen Environmental Executive Vice President Kevin Hayden.

The EPA recently finalized a plan to address serious air pollution that is dramatically reducing visibility at the Big Bend and Guadalupe Mountains National Parks in Texas and the Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma.